Artist Spotlight: Ben Templesmith

Posted On 14 Dec 2017 / 0 Comment

For over 25 years The Upper Deck Company has been at the forefront of quality and innovation. We are proud to maintain an award-winning portfolio of gaming and entertainment products that contain some of the industry’s best original works of art. We are excited to share exclusive interviews with some of our top artists bringing a look at the amazing people behind these amazing works. This is the Upper Deck Artist Spotlight Series.

UD: Ben, would you like to introduce yourself to the crowd?

Ben Templesmith: I’m Ben Templesmith, stubborn Australian living in Seattle who’s been doing comic books and various things related professionally since 2001. Especially creator-owned works, one of which was also turned into a movie, 30 Days of Night.

UD: What does “being creative” mean to you? How did you create your own style?

BT: It means being damn lucky, really. And being creative professionally, doubly so. I didn’t exactly create my own style. What comes out comes out. It evolves. Impossible to predict. It chooses you, rather than you choosing it. Sometimes I wish I had a choice!

UD: Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

BT: I started out as a newspaper cartoonist when I was 16, but I realized I wanted to tell stories when I read my first Marvel comic pretty much when I was an early teen. After that, I didn’t have a choice. Like I said, it chooses you, you don’t choose it! And I got lucky, in many ways. So many creative people sadly have to choose other things, to pay the bills, even if the urge to create remains.

UD: What kind of creative patterns, routines, or rituals do you have?

BT: Coffee. Lots of it. Sleep, and chaos. It’s all about waiting to get into the “zone” and when you are, not stopping until projects are done. I wish my time management was better, but it’s always a battle to be switched on when you need to be.

William lives in Oceanside, CA with his wife and daughter. When William isn't playing games or reading, he's often talking about playing games or reading. He has a personal passion for writing, loves deep, realistic characters and often yells into the void about people who aren't real.